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Highborne
The Highborne (aka highborn, high-borne, or Quel'dorei which means "children of noble birth" in Darnassian and "high elves" in Thalassian) were the upper classes of the kaldorei elf civilization and the favoured servitors of Queen Azshara. Despite their near-identical physical appearance, the ancient kaldorei were already split across racial lines as night elves and "highborn" elves. Due to their addiction and use of arcane magic, the highborne became a separate breed of elf and distinct from the night elven race. The highborne were largely responsible for the War of the Ancients, and most of those highborne who allied with the demons survived the war to later become the naga. Those that allied with the resistance before the last battle of the war evolved into the modern high elves. Today, they are a dying people, almost wholly vanished from this world, due to losses in the Third War and the subsequently huge exodus of high elves that became blood elves. Background and History , a night elf sorcerer.]] Before the Sundering The Highborne were the upper classes of the ancient Kaldorei civilization, at first a nameless caste made up of night elves who had unusual intelligence, strength, skills, or wealth and thus found favor with the ruling monarch. Their vast arrogance and greed, garish and multicolored clothing, and decadent habits did not endear them to other night elves. In fact, these powerful families became convinced that they were superior to the rest of their race, and so they began to call themselves the highborne. As a member of the same caste, the current queen — Azshara approved of the term and made it official. Plumbing the depths of the great Well of Eternity for knowledge they discovered primitive magic; and as time passed, they distanced themselves from the lower castes and began using their rank to selfishly guard their magical power, restricting access to the magical Well of Eternity to only themselves. The access of arcane magic to the ruling caste began to split the Kaldorei nation across racial lines; and despite their outwardly similar physical appearance, those "Highborne" were transformed by the magic flowing through their veins. Families that belonged to the highest caste frequently arranged marriages so as to maximize the magical ability of their offspring. This selective breeding, combined with frequent access to the Well of Eternity, resulted in night elves with progressively stronger magical abilities and greater understanding of how to use those skills. In contrast, the other castes entirely foreswore the use of arcane magic and even built up great resistance against it as the centuries passed. A Kaldorei without Highborne blood — such as Illidan Stormrage — could master arcane power if he so wished (and had access to it), although doing so would change him forever. Once a night elf learned to use arcane spellcasting, he suffered a painful transformation that stripped away his native night elf adaptations and replaced them with those of the Highborne elves. The complete change occurred within the space of a week and could not be reversed once started. However, though stripped of his racial heritage, in this early era his physical attributes would not change. The War of the Ancients Over time, the ever-more reckless use of magic by the Highborne and their queen led to their slow corruption and addiction to the power it granted, and the ripples sent into the Twisting Nether attracted the dread forces of the Burning Legion to Azeroth. The unlimited magical power offered by the demon lords seduced the queen and many of her servitors, and they agreed to grant the Legion entrance to Azeroth. Finally, giving themselves over to magic’s inevitable corruption, the Highborne fell to darkness and began to worship the Legionlord Sargeras as their god. Some, led by Xavius, gave themselves wholly over to the service of the Legion and were transformed by fel magic into the satyr. To cement their dark pact, the ecstatic Highborne opened a great, swirling portal within the depths of the Well of Eternity which would allow the armies of the Legion access to the world, followed by Sargeras himself. In the cataclysmic war that followed millions died as the demons swarmed over the lands of Kalimdor and laid siege to the lesser night elves’ sleeping cities, leaving only ash and sorrow in their wake. Though the brave Kaldorei warriors rallied from the heinous betrayal of their rulers and rushed to defend their ancient homeland, they were forced to give ground, inch by inch, before the fury of the Legion’s onslaught. The Legion was finally foiled by the efforts of the night elf Malfurion Stormrage, who in his battle with Queen Azshara collapsed the Well of Eternity, killing many Highborne and condemning those who survived to the sea floor where they were transformed into the serpentine naga by the mysterious Old Gods. After the Storm Yet many highborne did not meet their fate at the bottom of the sea. Some had betrayed their Queen at the last minute, having realized the horrors she would unleash upon the world. These defectors had fled the capital city of Zin-Azshari, site of the Well, and were thereby spared when the Great Sundering tore Kalimdor apart. Others remained hidden away in far-flung strongholds such as Eldre'Thalas. Those who had joined with the rest of their shattered peoples fled the rising waters of the Great Sea, eventually arriving at the base of Mount Hyjal, where they helped to rebuild the night elven civilization in the newly reshaped world. They were not entirely welcome: the night elves, now led by Malfurion, reviled Queen Azshara's former servants and were doubtful of their loyalty. Still, without the Well to supply their magic, the Highborne were considered little threat, and were permitted to rejoin night elven society. However, many felt the pangs of their magical addiction and were tempted to use the power of a new Well of Eternity created by Illidan Stormrage, who from then on would be termed "the Betrayer" for his terrible crime. Though the use of arcane magic was forbidden on pain of death, the Highborne foolishly attempting to convince the Kaldorei race of the power of magic by unleashing a magical storm upon Ashenvale. Their desperate gambit failed, and the Highborne were exiled; the night elves mercifully refusing to execute any more of their brethren. The High Elves of Quel'Thalas .]] These exiled Highborne took their punishment in stride, and led by Dath'Remar Sunstrider ("He who walks the day") set sail across the ocean in hopes of finding a new land to call their own. After a long and perilous journey, the Highborne arrived in the land known today as Lordaeron, and there established their kingdom of Quel'Thalas ("high kingdom" or "high home") and crowned Dath'Remar their king. There, they slowly changed in form, diminishing in size and losing their original purple skin to a pinkish hue. They abandoned the worship of the moon, adopting instead the sun, and became the high elves. They remembered the mistakes of the past and used Runestones to shield their use of the arcane from the Burning Legion, taking care to practice the magic granted to them by their Sunwell with more care than their ancestors. Nevertheless, after their homeland of Quel'Thalas — and the source of their power — was destroyed by the undead Scourge, a radical group of high elves embraced their Highborne ancestry and resumed for the third time their reckless use of magic. Kael'thas Sunstrider renamed these people as the blood elves, and traveled to Outland with Illidan to find a way to fuel their magical addiction. Those who did not travel with him remained behind and began to rebuild their shattered capital city of Silvermoon. Today Some true Highborne still exist and the largest surviving population, known as the Shen'dralar, live in secrecy within their city of Eldre'Thalas, known as "Dire Maul" to outsiders. Those highborne who live elsewhere in the world — such as Archmage Tarsis Kir-Moldir — are few in number; the majority having long since become high elves, blood elves, naga, satyr, or undead ghosts. Physical traits Though they started out as regular night elves, they had been transformed by the magic flowing through their veins. Night elves foreswore the use of arcane magic centuries before and even built up great resistance against it. They could master arcane power, although doing so changed them forever. Once a night elf learned to use arcane spellcasting, he suffered a painful transformation that stripped away his native night elf abilities and replaced them with high elf racial abilities. The complete change occurred within the space of a week and could not be reversed once its started. Although stripped of his racial heritage, his physical attributes did not change. Trivia The term "high-born" is used by humans to indicate those of noble birth. Notable Highborne .]] Deceased & Former Highborne * * * * * * * * Surviving Highborne * * * * * * * * * * Others * Iolan External links * The Warcraft Encyclopedia: Dath'Remar Sunstrider * The Warcraft Encyclopedia: High Elves * The Warcraft Encyclopedia: Highborne * The Warcraft Encyclopedia: Illidan Stormrage * The Warcraft Encyclopedia: Naga * The Warcraft Encyclopedia: Night Elves * The Warcraft Encyclopedia: Queen Azshara Category:Highborne Category:High elves Category:Lore Category:Night elves Category:Races